Advertisements and Depiction of the Woman Image: A Critique on Feminism

By promulgating the principle of equal status for the women, the movement of feminism has questioned, criticized, and protested against the conventional images of woman. By re-defining the existence of woman it compelled both men and women of the society to comprehend the identity of the woman from a different, hitherto neglected perspective. However, with the rampant socio-cultural changes due to the globalization, feminism has been trapped in new trauma. In this post-capital, post-post-modern world, all the revolutionary ideas are swiped away. Amidst this, several rejected values are re-nurturing their roots. This revival has made many revolutionary movements and thoughts dead. By watching the media that is the complete product of globalization and especially the advertisements that are the effective means of communication and manifesting tools of the contemporary culture one is sure to ask whether like all other disciplines there is the death of feminism. The present research paper intends to probe into the philosophy of feminism and its present status in the light of some select advertisements. Many times the audio-visual texts of ads may not use an overt manifestation of women, however, the pretext to the text and the cross referential world it creates through the text do communicate the new stereotypes of women image.